Leopard sightings cause panic in Belagavi; forest officials alert

Increasing incidents of leopards straying into human habitat in Belagavi city and its surroundings have created a sense of fear among people.
A cage is placed in the vinity of Hindalco Colony on Saturday; a screenshot of the leopard
A cage is placed in the vinity of Hindalco Colony on Saturday; a screenshot of the leopard

BELAGAVI: Increasing incidents of leopards straying into human habitat in Belagavi city and its surroundings have created a sense of fear among people. In the last two days, two leopards have been sighted — one at Hindalco Colony, and the other in the neighbouring Kudremani village. While images of a leopard moving in Hindalco Colony have been captured by a CCTV camera, a video clip of the leopard straying into Kudremani went viral on social media in Belagavi on Saturday.

What’s more scary is the fact that the leopard which was found moving at Hindalco Colony on Thursday night has been sighted again by a woman on Saturday morning. Even before she raised an alarm, the big cat disappeared. However, several teams of Forest Department personnel have been camping at Hindalco Colony at various spots in an attempt to catch the wildcat with the help of cage-traps since Friday night.

According to sources in Forest Department, the leopard strayed into the colony from the neighbouring Kakti forests to attack stray dogs, which have risen in number.  Although, the leopard has not been spotted by many in the locality, several residents of Hindalco Colony noticed that the number of stray dogs in the vicinity had come down mysteriously in the last some days.

Acting swiftly after the leopard was sighted by the woman, three teams (with 10 members in each team) of forest personnel have intensified the search operation. Measures also have been taken to ensure safety of the local residents.

At Kudremani, Sampat Kamble and Prakash Kamble, two friends and residents of Kudremani village, spotted a leopard moving into a farm located on Kudremani-Turkewadi road on Friday evening. According to them, the adult leopard was entering the cashew farm when they video-recorded it from behind. The video of the big cat moving into the farm has already become viral on social media. 

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The New Indian Express
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